Damaged girl
by millyxx
Summary: Olivia and Elliot get a call about an abused little girl but when her mother overdoses no one has any answers. Can they help this mysterious little girl? CHAPTER THREE UP!
1. but you can call me Ali

**A/N - This is my first story so please read and review. I haven't written the next chapter yet, it depends on reviews. Also, I love SVU but I don't keep up with it so this has no particular time setting or anything.**

**Disclaimer - Anything you recognize…I don't own**

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"We got a call from a resident nearby saying they could hear a child screaming. Initially we suspected domestic abuse when we found a little girl real messed up in the street. Her mom was over-dosed in the house and there's definitely something else going on here." Officer James Simpson told Detectives Benson and Stabler as they made their way down a suburban street, now riddled with police cars, ambulances and journalists.

"Why? Did she tell you anything?" How old is she?" Benson asked.

"No. We couldn't get a word out of her. We found a heap of suspicious photos though. My guess is she's about five or six but like I said she's not talking. She completely freaked out when I came near her. My female partner had a bit more luck and she let her stay with her but she wouldn't even let us take her to the EMT's."

The little girl had only just come into Elliot and Olivia's view but the sound of their approaching footsteps caused the girl to whip her head up. She was sitting with her legs drawn up to her chest beside a female police officer. Her dark brown hair was tied back but most of it had fallen out and was hanging messily around her tiny face. Olivia could see fear in her striking green eyes and motioned for Elliot to stay back and speak with Officer Simpson. As Olivia approached the small girl the female officer stood and walked over.

"Hi I'm officer Haley Shaw."

"Benson. Has she told you her name or…anything?" Olivia asked.

"No. She hasn't said a word. I asked if I could sit with her for a while and she just nodded. She's been like that the whole time." Officer Shaw motioned to the little girl who was staring straight ahead and rocking back and forth slightly.

"Ok, well I'll give it a try see if she responds to me."

"Good luck." Officer Shaw replied before walking away to join her partner and Elliot.

"Hi there, do you mind if I sit down?" Olivia asked the girl gently, bending down to her level. The fear returned to the child's eyes as her gaze shifted to Olivia. She eventually nodded indicating Olivia could sit.

"Sweetheart, my name is Detective Benson but you can call me Olivia." The girl continued to stare at Olivia.

"What's your name honey?"

Those big green eyes focused intently on Olivia for another minute before she looked down at the ground and said in a tiny voice, "Alinah."

She then looked back up at Olivia again before saying, in that same broken whisper, "but you can call me Ali."

"What's your last name Ali?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you." Ali replied, again looking down at the ground.

"Why not?" Olivia asked confused.

"My mommy would be mad…because you're the police."


	2. I don't want to be alone

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing. **

**TheGoddessPixie - I will try my best. I have a few ideas in mind for the story already but keep reading and you may get your wish =D. **

**Disclaimer - Again, anything you recognize…I don't own.**

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Olivia looked down at Ali with sympathy in her eyes. Thoughts were running through her mind about what the small child could possibly have been through. Whatever it was, she knew this was going to be a tough case.

"Alright Ali. You don't have to answer anymore questions just now. How about I take you over to the paramedics and they can have a look at you and make sure you're ok." Olivia smiled gently. Ali didn't respond. Olivia shifted so she was now crouching in front of Ali.

"Come on sweetie, you must be hurting. How about we get you fixed up." Ali still didn't make a move but slowly lifted her head up and looked into Olivia's eyes with fresh tears sparkling in her own.

"Will you stay with me? I don't want to be on my own." Her little voice was cracking and the tears spilled from her eyes down her already tear-stained cheeks. Olivia took her tiny hand in hers.

"I won't leave you Ali. You're safe with me." At this, Ali slowly and shakily made her way to her feet. Olivia noticed her unsteadiness and gently lifted the shaken girl onto her hip. Ali immediately buried her head in Olivia's shoulder as they made their way out into the crowded street.

Lowering Ali down onto the gurney, Olivia kept tight hold of her hand. Ali's eyes darted around frightfully, taking in as much of her surroundings as she could.

"Hi Ali, my name is Bree. I'm a paramedic. I'm gonna have a look at you ok." Ali's gaze immediately stopped shifting and rested on the paramedic standing before her. As Bree was instructing Ali to lie down on the gurney, Elliot made his way over. Ali's body tensed up immediately.

"Ali," Olivia said softly looking her in the eye. "Elliot is a friend. He's not going to hurt you. I'm gonna go just over there and talk to him for a minute ok?" Ali nodded slightly and Olivia gave her hand a quick squeeze before moving away to speak with Elliot.

"How's it going? Did you get anything out of her?" Elliot said immediately.

"Nope," Olivia replied, "she said she couldn't tell me her last name because her mom would be mad."

"Well she doesn't have to worry about that. Her mom is dead." Elliot said. "Cragen just called. He said she downed a whole bottle of sleeping pills and was gone by the time they got her to the hospital."

"Well that doesn't leave us with too many answers does it?" Olivia replied. "How about you speak with the neighbours and I'll ride with her to the hospital. You can meet me there later."

"Sounds good," Olivia then went to go back to Ali but Elliot called her back.

"Hey Liv!"

"Yeah?" She said spinning around.

"I know this is a bad time but I wanted to talk to you about something." Just then Ali let out a scream from behind them and Olivia looked at him intently, willing him to quickly finish.

"Never mind, I'll tell you later. Go back to her." Olivia then quickly spun around and ran back over to Ali, leaving Elliot staring at the ground. After Kathy left and took the kids, Elliot realized how much he loved Olivia. It'd been six months and he'd finally decided he had to tell her how he felt. Just finding the right moment was proving really difficult. Sighing, he turned away, staring down the shabby, run-down street. Somehow he gathered he wouldn't be finding too many answers here.

Olivia stood beside the gurney, tightly holding Ali's hand and wiping fresh tears from her cheeks. Ali had curled herself up into a ball and refused to let Bree touch her.

"What happened?" Olivia asked Bree.

"I tried to examine her and she freaked. I can't blame her; the poor little thing is covered in bruises, all in different stages of healing," Bree responded. "I'm going to have to take her to hospital now anyway. The doctors can do their assessment there; she'll probably be calmer."

"OK, I'm riding with you," Olivia replied and then looked down at Ali.

"Ali, we're gonna take you to the hospital now but don't worry, I'm right here OK." Bree then pushed the gurney into the back of the ambulance and her and Olivia climbed in.

Elliot turned around as the ambulance sped off down the road, sirens blaring. He then looked up at the shabby little house in front of him. Stepping inside, he saw a few police officers still taking photos and gathering evidence. Walking into the kitchen he saw Officers Simpson and Shaw sitting at the table surrounded by photographs.

"Hey," he said taking a seat beside them. "Have you found anything yet?"

"Apart from this sick kiddy porn? No." Simpson replied with a disgusted look on his face. Elliot picked up a few pictures off the table. The first showed the little girl, Ali, sitting on a bed in her underwear with tears streaming down her face. Flipping through the pile they only got worse. Throwing them back down on the table he said, "What about a name or anything?"

"We haven't got anything. I don't think the mom wanted us to know anything. There's nothing personal in this house at all…apart from the photos." Simpson responded. Elliot then rose to his feet and as he was exiting the room he said, "I'm gonna go see if the neighbours can give us any information."

Knocking loudly, Elliot could hear footsteps approaching from behind the door. A man about sixty years old answered, wearing his pajamas and not looking too pleased.

"Detective Stabler, Special Victim's Unit. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Elliot stated.

"Well it's not like I could sleep anyway with all those sirens going off." The man replied bluntly.

"Sorry sir, but your neighbor has committed suicide and her daughter is badly beaten. We're just looking for anyone who can give us any information."

"I don't know anything about them. They moved in a couple of weeks ago and I haven't spoken to them. They make a hell of a racket but that's all I know."

"Ok well thank you anyway." With that the man closed the door and Elliot moved on to the next house.

After speaking with five of the neighbours the only useful information Elliot gained was that the land ladies name was Fay Hughes but when he tried to contact her, her phone was turned off. He decided to head off to the hospital to see how Olivia was doing.

They wheeled Ali into the hospital with Olivia still beside her. A pretty blonde woman joined them. Bree spoke as they entered through the doors of the emergency room.

"This is Ali. Five years old. Found outside her home. Numerous lacerations and bruises in various stages of recovery. She wouldn't let me do a full examination on site."

"Thanks Bree," the blonde woman said. "Hi Ali, I'm Doctor Morcombe but you can call me Stephanie. I'm gonna look after you today."

As they wheeled Ali into a room Olivia helped her across to the bed and sat beside her, stroking her hair behind her ear, trying to calm her. She then helped Ali change into a gown and held her hand as Stephanie examined her. When she had completed her exam, Stephanie motioned for Olivia to move away so they could speak.

"She has bruising on her inner thighs probably caused by sexual assault. We're going to have to do a rape exam." Stephanie said; her face sullen. "Other than that, she has a nasty cut on her forehead and some pretty bad bruising. There are no extensive injuries but she'll need to be admitted for tonight."

"Ok, well I should speak with her before the exam. She's really scared."

"Of course," Stephanie replied. "Tell the nurse to come get me when she's ready." Stephanie turned and walked off down the hall and Olivia returned to Ali's bedside.

"Ali," Ali looked up as Olivia sat down on the side of her bed. "When Stephanie was looking at you she found some bruises between your legs. Normally the only way someone can get these bruises is if someone else hurts them. Now, I need you to tell me if that's what happened to you." Tears started forming in Ali's eyes but she didn't respond.

"It's OK Ali. If a man was hurting you between your legs he shouldn't have been. I know you're scared sweetie but it's really important that you tell me what happened now." Ali studied Olivia's face and then suddenly tears began pouring from her eyes. Her tiny frame was racking with sobs and she said through shaky breaths, "I didn't want them to…but mommy said I had to…they h…hurt me…but she said if I didn't then…we wouldn't have any money." Olivia moved closer to Ali and Ali collapsed in her arms. Protectively wrapping her arms around the little girl, Olivia rubbed calming circles on her back as Ali cried into her chest.

Eventually Ali calmed down and stopped crying and Olivia positioned her so she was still holding her but could see her face.

"Sweetheart, I know you probably don't want to but Stephanie has to look between your legs again to make sure you're not hurt inside." Ali's breathing became shaky again and Olivia started again rubbing her back gently. Olivia comforted little girls who had been abused all the time but something felt different about this little girl. Something about her made Olivia's heart ache even more than it did with those other girls.

"We're not going to hurt you Ali. We want to help you ok." Ali nodded eventually but held on to Olivia tight. Rocking her back and forth slightly and whispering gently in her ear, Olivia calmed Ali down enough and motioned for the nurse to go get Doctor Morcombe.

Ali laid down flat on the bed with her feet in the stirrups. She blinked tears from her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Olivia held her hand tight and tried to talk to her while Stephanie was doing the exam but Ali couldn't speak. Her tiny heart was racing and she was scared out of her mind. She was confused and didn't know what was going to happen to her. She didn't want to be here but she didn't want to go home. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in Olivia's arms and sleep. She was so tired; she'd been up all night. Then the exam was over, it had felt like forever to Ali but the end came so suddenly as well. Stephanie was lifting her feet down and Olivia was smiling at her, telling her how good she did. Stephanie asked Olivia to speak with her out in the hallway and Ali was so tired she just watched them go.

"She was definitely assaulted, numerous times actually. By the looks of things this little girl has been dealing with this for quite a while."

Olivia looked at the little girl lying on the bed. She could see she was fighting to keep her eyes open. Olivia's heart broke for Ali. She'd never felt this way about a case before. Sure she had gotten attached and too involved but this was definitely different. She could feel herself becoming more and more emotionally attached every minute.

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**A/N - I know that not a lot has happened so far it'll get better I promise. Please review and I'll try and update as soon as I can. **


	3. I love you too

**A/N - So here's chapter 3. Thanks for the reviews and I'm glad you like the story so far. Please keep reviewing and if you have any ideas for the story just let me know. **

**Disclaimer - not mine. **

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Olivia walked alongside Ali's bed as she was wheeled down the corridor. Ali was sleeping restlessly. As soon as Olivia and Stephanie had told her they were taking her upstairs she quickly drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Just as the doors of the lift began to open, Olivia saw Elliot running down the hallway.

"Liv!" He waved to her as he came to a stop beside her.

"Hey El," she replied.

"Listen, I didn't get any leads from the neighbors and I was gonna head back to the squad room for a while. Do you need a lift?"

"Umm, I might stay with Ali for a while until she gets settled upstairs. Thanks though." And with that the doors of the lift closed and Elliot was left standing in corridor alone.

Olivia pulled up a chair and sat beside a still sleeping Ali. She looked at the little girl and still wondered what horrors this girl had faced. She'd spent hours with her and gained her trust but she still knew close to nothing about her. At this Ali gave a small whimper in her sleep and sat up, awake. Olivia knew now would be as good a time as any to question Ali. First, she knew she'd have to break the news to her of her mother's death. She gave Ali a couple of minutes to wake up properly and then gently called her name to get her attention.

"Ali."

"Yeah 'Livia?"

"Sweetie, I have talk to you about your mom ok." Olivia reached out and took Ali's hand.

"What about my mommy?" Ali sat up properly in the bed listening carefully to what Olivia was telling her.

"Do you know what it means when someone dies Ali?"

"Yes, it's like they go to sleep forever and ever." Ali replied.

"That's right," Olivia continued. "Well, today, after we found you and took your mom to hospital, she died."

"Oh ok." Olivia wasn't surprised by Ali's response. By the looks of things Ali's mom hadn't been a very good mother and although Ali said she understood, Olivia knew that a five year old couldn't truly understand what death was. While Olivia was trying to find away to gently bring on the questioning side of their conversation Ali looked up at Olivia and spoke.

"If my mommy is dead does that mean I get to go back to daddy now?"

"Umm, did you used to live with your dad?" Olivia asked; glad that she might finally be getting somewhere.

"Yeah, 'cept then he went to Iraq and we moved and mommy said we weren't allowed to see him anymore."

"Ok, well how about you tell me your daddy's name and I'll try and find out where he is."

"My daddy's name is daddy." Olivia couldn't help but smile a little at Ali's innocence.

"What about his last name Ali?"

"Walker."

"Is that the same as your last name?" Ali looked down at the bed and started pulling at the sheet.

"I know you said you weren't allowed to tell me but you won't get in trouble anymore Ali." Ali hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "yes that's my last name too."

Olivia stood in the hallway waiting for Elliot to pick up his phone.

"Stabler." Elliot's voice came from the other end of the receiver.

"El, it's me. Listen, her name is Alinah Walker. Can you look that up for me and find out where her father is. She said he went to war and while he was gone her and her mom moved away."

"Yeah, I'm on it. Hey are you gonna be much longer Liv. It's nearly 8:30. How about I swing by and pick you up and then we can go get some dinner?" Elliot replied.

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon."

Olivia walked back into Ali's room to find her again sleeping restlessly. She sat down beside her and placed her hand on top of Ali's. As she watched Ali sleeping she began thinking of Elliot. After his divorce Olivia's feelings for Elliot had gotten a lot stronger. She didn't want to say anything though; she didn't want to ruin their friendship. Olivia's eyes became heavy and she suddenly realised how tired she was.

Elliot walked in to Ali's room an hour later to find both Ali and Olivia asleep. Olivia was sitting in a chair beside Ali's bed with her head resting awkwardly on the side of the bed. Elliot made his way over and gently touched Olivia's shoulder. She didn't move. Elliot took a moment to take in her beauty. He wanted nothing more than to put his arms around her and watch her sleep forever. Elliot sighed and then whispered to himself, "god I love you Olivia Benson."

At that exact moment Olivia's eyes opened and he knew she had heard. He nervously watched her facial expression change from sleepy to wide-eyed. He could feel his heart pounding. Elliot Stabler was not a nervous, shy man but in those few moments he was scared out of his mind. He nearly dropped to the floor when Olivia replied, "I love you too Elliot Stabler."


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